In the removal of tree stumps, it is well known to those skilled in the art that a grinding device including a large cutting wheel or disk is coupled to a drive motor for rotation about a central axis of the wheel. A plurality of cutting teeth are securely mounted around the periphery of the cutting wheel in complementary pairs with the cutting edge of each tooth extending radially outwardly from the edge of the wheel. The cutting or grinding teeth are typically secured to the cutting wheel by a pocket in which the shank of a tooth is secured, and the pocket is securely fastened to the wheel or disk by bolting thereto, thereby securely clamping the grinding or cutting teeth in the pocket and attached to the cutting wheel.
In operation, the cutting tooth bearing wheel is rotated about its central axis and brought into contact with a tree stump, causing the cutting edge of the cutting teeth to cut or chip away the stump material. By continuously sweeping the cutting wheel back and forth across the stump, the cutting teeth continuously remove the stump material.
During removal of the stump material, the reaction force exerted on each of the cutting teeth when the cutting wheel is engaging the stump material is in a direction that extends perpendicularly into the cutting edge of each cutting tooth, and tangential to the wheel and teeth mounted thereto. Accordingly, it is very important to secure the tooth to the cutting wheel, and to provide the tooth with sufficient strength to guard against breakage.
When a conventional tooth and pocket combination is utilized, it has been found that on occasion a tooth can be pulled from its clamped position within the tooth-receiving pocket. In addition, such tooth and pocket combinations generally require that the positioning of the tooth within the pocket be gauged so that the cutting surface of the tooth is properly positioned relative to the periphery of the cutting wheel when the pocket is secured thereto.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to improve stump grinder teeth construction.
Another object of this invention is to eliminate the necessity for gauging a cutting tooth in a cutting tooth holder.
A further object of this invention is to increase the wear characteristics of the grinding tooth components.
Yet another object of this invention is to more securely attach the cutting tooth to the grinding wheel to minimize occasions of the cutting tooth being thrown from the grinding wheel.